Agility Robotics, a Salem, Oregon-based humanoid robot maker, announced a merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI that will value the company at $2.5 billion and make it the first publicly traded company entirely devoted to building and selling humanoid robots. The deal, expected to close by year-end, will provide over $620 million in gross proceeds and marks a significant milestone for an industry that has long struggled to move beyond research labs into actual commercial work.

The company's flagship product, Digit, is a two-legged robot designed to pick up and move heavy bins and totes in warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Unlike some competitors that prioritize humanlike appearance, Digit's design prioritizes function: its legs are more birdlike than human, and its hands work like grippers. The robot is already operating in real customer environments at companies including Amazon, GXO Logistics, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Schaeffler, and Mercado Libre, having accumulated more than 65,000 hours of operation across nine customer facilities.

This public debut arrives at a moment when labor shortages in warehousing and manufacturing are becoming increasingly acute. Agility's CEO Peggy Johnson emphasized the practical problem the company is solving: "The demand here is large and increasing. We have companies reshoring production, older workers retiring, and younger generations just not opting for these types of menial jobs".

Peggy Johnson

What Makes Agility's Approach Different From Other Humanoid Makers?

While competitors like Tesla and Chinese robotics company Unitree are building humanoids that can dance, do backflips, and perform acrobatic demonstrations, Agility has taken a narrower but arguably more pragmatic approach. The company focused on solving a specific problem: repetitive, physically demanding warehouse work that humans find dangerous or undesirable.

Jonathan Hurst, Agility's co-founder and chief robot officer, explained the company's philosophy: "We looked at hundreds of applications. We realized that picking up bins and totes is an awfully good beachhead market". This focus on a concrete use case rather than general-purpose humanoid capability has allowed Agility to move faster toward commercial deployment than many competitors still in the prototype phase.

Jonathan Hurst, Agility's co-founder and chief robot officer

The company's current Digit v4 model can carry 35 pounds, reach up to 5.5 feet high, and operate for 16 hours on a standard charge. The upcoming Digit v5, which Agility is preparing to launch, will represent a significant upgrade with a 40 percent increase in carrying capacity to 50 pounds, a reach of 7.2 feet, and approximately 22 hours of operating time per charge.

How Is Agility Scaling Production and Deployment?

To support commercial growth, Agility has built the infrastructure needed for manufacturing at scale:

• Manufacturing Facility: RoboFab, a full-scale modular manufacturing facility in Salem, Oregon, designed to support production of up to 10,000 units annually
• Supply Chain Localization: The company sources approximately 75 percent of Digit's parts within the United States and owns many of the robot's highest-value hardware systems
• Software Platform: Agility Arc, a cloud-based automation platform that enables deployment, fleet orchestration, and operational management across customer facilities, integrating with warehouse management systems
• Geographic Presence: Operations in Pittsburgh and Fremont, California, in addition to the Salem headquarters

The company has already secured more than $300 million in multi-year orders for Digit v5, subject to contractual milestones being met. Additionally, Agility has a growing pipeline of more than 30 customers, reflecting increasing enterprise demand for humanoid solutions.

Pricing remains a key consideration for adoption. The bill of materials for Digit v4 is $125,000, and Agility expects to reduce this cost as production volumes increase. The company offers Digit through both a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model and direct purchase options.

What Is the Market Opportunity Agility Is Targeting?

Agility's management estimates the addressable market for humanoid robots in manufacturing, distribution, and logistics environments in the United States alone at approximately $1 trillion. This massive potential market reflects the scale of labor shortages and the repetitive nature of warehouse and factory work that could be automated.

The company has backing from major technology and industrial players, including Amazon, NVIDIA, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Foxconn, and Schaeffler. These strategic investors bring not only capital but also potential customer relationships and technical expertise. NVIDIA, for example, selected Agility as the launch partner for NVIDIA Halos, a full-stack safety system designed specifically for physical AI and humanoid robots.

Safety has emerged as the critical factor determining whether humanoid robots can scale beyond controlled environments. Hurst noted: "We learned in our commercial deployments that safety is the biggest blocker to adoption. Once we deploy Digit v5, this will be the scaling moment for humanoid moments. Our robot will be able to walk out of a fenced area or workcell and walk out into warehouse and factory environments".

Hurst

Agility's next-generation Digit v5 has been specifically designed for environments where people and robots work together, expanding the range of workflows that can be automated. The company's physical AI platform enables the robot to perceive, understand, and interact with the physical world while safely operating in complex, human-centric environments.

The race to commercialize humanoid robots is intensifying globally. Agility's planned public debut comes as China's Unitree is moving toward going public on Shanghai's stock exchange, and Tesla continues to develop its Optimus prototype. However, Agility's early commercial deployments and proven track record in real warehouse environments give it a distinct advantage as the first publicly traded pure-play humanoid company with active customer operations.